Safety mechanism for selection and/or actuation of a timepiece striking work

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016342138-A1
Application number	US-201615142608-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Apr 29, 2016
Priority date	May 21, 2015
Publication date	Nov 24, 2016
Grant date	—

Abstract

Timepiece striking mechanism including control means, releasable by a timepiece movement or by a user, and arranged to start a melody or striking sound, and melody selection means including a lever for selecting a selector mechanism arranged to allow the movement of a specific control-piece in order to perform a specific melody or striking sound, this striking mechanism including a safety mechanism for preventing the selection or the actuation of a melody or striking sound when a melody or striking sound is already being performed, this safety mechanism includes, for each control piece, a cam arranged to prevent the operation of the melody selection means by immobilising the lever, when its control piece has started to perform a melody or striking sound.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A timepiece striking mechanism including control means arranged to be actuated by a timepiece movement or by a user in order to start a melody or striking sound, and melody selection means arranged to be actuated by a timepiece movement or by a user and including a main lever for selecting a selector mechanism arranged to allow the movement of a specific control-piece in order to perform a specific melody or striking sound, wherein said striking mechanism includes a safety mechanism arranged to prevent the selection or the actuation of a melody or striking sound when a melody or striking sound is already being performed, said safety mechanism includes, for each said control piece, a cam associated with said control piece and arranged, when said control piece thereof has started the performance of a melody or striking sound, to prevent the actuation of said melody selection means, by immobilising said main lever.

2 . The striking mechanism according to claim 1 , wherein each said cam, of said safety mechanism includes a finger-piece for controlling the pivoting of said respective cam under the action of a beak, comprised in said respective control piece, when said respective control piece pivots.

3 . The striking mechanism according to claim 1 , wherein each said control piece includes hooking means, which are arranged to cooperate, to immobilise said control piece, with complementary hooking means, comprised in a locking lever, whose pivoting, against elastic return means comprised in said locking lever, is controlled by said selector mechanism which cooperates with said control piece.

4 . The striking mechanism according to claim 3 , wherein said locking levers are superposed, and each include a control finger-piece, and wherein said melody selection means include at least one column wheel whose pillars are arranged to cooperate with all of said control finger-pieces of said locking levers.

5 . The striking mechanism according to claim 1 , wherein each said cam includes a boss cooperating with a return spring associated with said cam to impart to said cam a resistant torque tending to resist the advance of said control piece concerned.

6 . The striking mechanism according to claim 1 , wherein each said cam preferably includes a cylindrical female recess, which is arranged to cooperate in a complementary manner with a cylindrical male boss comprised in said control lever, in order to prevent the pivoting of both cams in a strike correction phase.

7 . The striking mechanism according to claim 1 , wherein each said cam includes a male cylindrical peripheral portion, which is arranged to cooperate in a complementary manner with a female cylindrical surface comprised in said control lever, to prevent the pivoting of said control lever in the safety position and during the advance of said control piece, while allowing the pivoting of said cam concerned.

8 . The striking mechanism according to claim 1 , wherein said control lever includes an arm provided with a hook arranged to cooperate in traction with the teeth of an inclined toothing integral with said melody selection means.

9 . A timepiece movement including at least one striking mechanism according to claim 1 .

10 . A watch including at least one striking mechanism according to claim 1 .

Assignees

• Blancpain Sa

Inventors

• Behra Julien

Classifications

• G04B21/10 Primary

  Releasing or locking the regular stroke, e.g. for silence during the night · CPC title

• G10K1/074

  with rotary clappers or shells · CPC title

• G04B23/025

  Signal triggering (in alarm clocks which deliver also or only non-acoustic signals G04B25/005) · CPC title

• G04B21/12

  Reiterating watches or clocks · CPC title

• G04B23/00 Primary

  Arrangements producing acoustic signals at preselected times {(indicating the time by optical means G04B19/00, G04C17/00; indicating the time by acoustic means G04B21/00; indicating the time by means other than acoustic or optical, or by a combination of means G04B25/00; acoustic time signals produced electrically G04C21/00; coin-freed alarm clocks G07F17/0007; acoustic signalling means G08B3/00)} · CPC title